An A-Z of Sports Betting Terminology

You don’t need an advanced degree to understand the language of sports betting, but you will greatly increase your chances of success if you familiarise yourself with the wide ranging of sports betting terminology.

Action: generic term for the number of bets placed on a game or sporting event.

Against the Spread (ATS): indicates the betting result of an event that takes the point spread into account.

Bad beat: a loss that started off as an apparent easy win before taking a turn for the worst.

Bookmaker: an individual or online service which accepts wagers on sporting events.

Buy points: the ability a punter has to pay for a half-point or more off the spread.